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BROWN BAG DISCUSSION SERIES
Kathleen Weathers,
Program Director, Ecosystem Science Cluster, National Science
Foundation,
NSF: options and opportunities,
March 9, 1:30 pm, 408 Baker These discussions will be based on her experience as the Director, Ecosystem Cluster, NSF, and the work she's done on scientific culture. Please join us!
POTLUCK SUPPER SERIES Upcoming: Previous topics (both daytime and evening programs): "Like Blood from our Veins:" Perspectives on water in post-communist Poland. Oct 20, 2009. Work-Life Balance Panel (co-sponsored by WISE-FPP), Jan 30, 2009 Surviving Grad School 101: Balancing Work and Family, November 18, 2008 Robin Bell's guide to preparing for tenure, March 4, 2008 Bringing women's ways of knowing to deliberative democracy, May 2, 2007 Can girls be fishermen? A discussion on recreation and gender, March 28, 2007 Sustainable Development and Social Power, Dec. 6, 2006 Advancing Ecology: Why (cultural) diversity matters, April 10, 2006 But you don't look like an engineer...., February 14, 2006 Domestic Violence and a Woman's Self-Worth, Mar. 9, 2005 (Program with the Baobab Society) Take Back your Holiday! Dec. 1, 2004 Balancing work and… (Social life, family, personal time, sleep….). October 26, 2004. Support for working Families, October 23, 2003. Balancing work and family, September 30, 2003 Summarized below. Ecofeminism, November 12, 2009 Sex and nature sell—perfume, vehicles, cigarettes. Janine DeBaise opened the discussion of Ecofemisim with a file of collected magazine clippings. Most of the skin shown was that of women (although we did see one advertisement featuring a scantily clad man). We found two extremes: a video console ad that claimed “there is a beautiful naked women” under game screenshots strategically placed over portions of her body, and a Maidenform ad with photos of a baby chicken, a doll, a tomato and a fox, and text that reads "While the images used to describe women are simple and obvious, women themselves rarely are." 4WD vehicles were shown in places vehicles really shouldn’t be (wilderness areas, far off-road, mostly with solitary men conquering nature). These wilderness areas were also the backdrop of many of the perfume ads—“perhaps to make them seem more natural?” we asked. High heels seemed out of place in some of the ads, too, but perhaps not more so than the rest of the attire featured (particularly one set in the desert where the models donned only their skivvies and heels.) It’s been a while since Janine sorted through the file, and she expected many ads to be dated—but the only ones that seemed to be were the Marlboro men, rugged, solitary characters whose product simply doesn’t get advertised in the same venue anymore. How does this compare to the ads we see on television today? Do any cleaning products commercials feature men? Not really—its women doing the cleaning, using sprays and candles to make their houses smell homier. Sex still sells: a new line of lingerie offers to increase bust size by 2 cups! At least we haven’t seen bikini-clad beer bimbos lately, and women are much more likely to be portrayed as Moms than as vacuous or a shrew—although those ads still do make an appearance. We also contrasted the happy, carefree models wearing pajamas to the severe expressions on the lingerie models. To us, this said: pajamas are comfortable; that lingerie, perhaps not. Be comfortable, be happy. Probably not the message some of the advertisers hoped we’d take home. "Like Blood from our Veins:" Perspectives on water in post-communist Poland. October 20, 2009. Dr. Sharon Moran, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, briefly discussed Poland's rich history, highlights of two of her projects, and invited participants to sample meats, bread and sweets representative of the country's cuisine. Poland's transition to a market economy and a democratic government, creative/energetic/idealistic leaders in 1999, coupled with a main watershed covering 53% of the country and most of its industrial center, and that it was the last unregulated in Europe made the country very open for Sharon Moran's doctoral research. The country's location between Germany and Russia also means that the borders have shifted a lot over the years. Despite this, there is a great sense of national pride--especially for the communal opposition of Nazi occupiers. Reconstruction in Warsaw used authentic building techniques so that new building are almost indistinguishable from the originals. New signs now mark the site of the Warsaw ghetto that housed Polish Jews during that time. Municipal Waste Management during the Early Part of the transition from a welfaristic to a neoliberal orientation. She found great variation in the incentives to improve water across the country: better quality for profit, a brewer subsidizing projects, commercial interests. Local perception of drinking water: Warsaw has cheap filtered tap water, commercial bottled water is available but not frequently purchased. It also has >100 deep wells throughout the cite fed by a common aquifer, drilled by the government in late 50s in so that good quality drinking water would be available should bombing resume. Workers would bottle their own and bring this great tasting water home. Many of the wellhouses are open 24/7. Wells are tested periodically, and local variations due affect quality and individual wells may be closed temporarily.She expected that this practice developed because it was cheaper than commercial bottled water. Instead, she heard that the water tastes wonderful, and that its safe (respondents would know if it were otherwise, and "they" would close). Further, most of the interviewees were unaware that the filtered river water from their taps was actually still contaminated. Lunchtime Learning Seminars are offered by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Work-Life Balance Panel (co-sponsored by WISE-FPP), Jan 30, 2009 Panelists Svetoslava Todorova, a graduate student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at SU; Dr. Melissa Fierke, Assistant Professor, EFB, SUNY-ESFF; Dr. Marina Artuso, Professor, Physics, and Co-Director, WISE, SU; and Dr. Shobha Bhatia, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, Civil and Environmental Engineering, SU represented different stages of an academic career. Similarly, their children range in age from toddler to college. Some of their spouses are fellow academics, some have separate professional careers, and one is an at-home dad. Their suggestions:
Questions: Did any of you consider working part-time? No. Part-time is generally frowned upon, especially for those that have not attained tenure. Full-time expectations even for those that are part-time. International students do not have a part-time option. Childcare Centers? Great help. Can’t predict how you will feel about daycare. Lots of moms think they want a childcare facility, but change their minds after birth. At the same time, it’s very hard to give up a career you love, even its just for a short period. “Even the best-laid plans…”. Timely examples: a fifth panelist cancelled to care for a sick child, and one of the sitting panelists was called away for a period to coordinate assistance for an older child. Surviving Grad School 101: Balancing Work and Family, November 18, 2008 Rosemary O'Leary began the discussion with her own background: her mother started work on a PhD once her youngest child started school. She also shared her challenge of finding good job opportunities for her and her husband (an economist, also with the Maxwell School) where both of them were wanted, and then raising their daughter (and a child from a previous marriage) with two busy research careers.
What
works for them: They arrange their class
schedules on opposite days, so the one not teaching
can prepare dinner, chauffer, chaperone, etc., split
household duties, and they renegotiate when this
ceases to work.
Daughter
has been to many meetings and defenses.
Rosemary reserves an hour a day for herself which
she spends in the gym (similarly, one of the
participants learned to play an instrument); she
firmly believes that this helps her be better at
everything else, and that its a good model for her
daughter. She doesn't go to all the meetings
she would like--sometimes its Larry's turn. Ask for
help. The waiting list for the daycare at her
previous institution was 150 families long; they
called weekly to check. She suspects they just
got tired of the phone calls and moved her to the
top.
Specific questions: How did you survive the
time between when your daughter was 10 and 14?
Rosemary shared her remembrance that she had
personally loved when her mom had asked her opinion,
and the realization that this was true for her own
daughter. Between homework and
extracurricular activities and sleep, do kids even
do chores anymore? Time crunched moms often
find it more expedient to do it themselves rather
than supervising or taking time to teach to do task
correctly. But this ends up a disservice to
both. Rotate responsibilities, and accept that
things won't necessarily be done as well for
now. When Rosemary was a child, there were 7
rotating tasks, including "the expediter" who
made sure all the other tasks were completed.
She
asked participants about their particular struggles:
time, staying upbeat, a little time in the gym to
keep sane, getting kids through it, too.
Two of
the participants took the same route as Rosemary's
mom, and are now pursuing degrees. Other
successful
strategies: ditch unsupportive spouse
(especially if abusive), move into a smaller place
with easier upkeep and less opportunities for
mooching by adult children. Some solutions don't
work for everyone: Theoretically we could
"farm out" cooking and cleaning, but not on most
student budgets!
This discussion was facilitated by Rosemary O'Leary, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration; Distinguished Professor and Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership; Co-Director, Program for the Analysis and Resolution of Conflict; and Senior Research Associate in both the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and Center for Environmental Policy and Administration at Syracuse University. It was co-sponsored by the Graduate Student Association as part of their yearlong series Surviving Grad School 101. Robin Bell's guide to preparing for tenure, March 4, 2008 Dr. Bell “Step(ped) through hints on how to be strategic; how to build the record you need to be an academic scientist.” The time between post-doc and tenure sets the stage. If you have a plan, you are likely to do better (measures used: submit papers and grant applications at a higher rate, be first author more frequently) and be more satisfied. Productivity is THE measure of how good you are, with # of pubs is the most common metric Be able to say what you have contributed, and have a “home run”—an important discovery or advance. There is a hierarchy of value associated with scientific work: Theoretical>experimental>technological breakthroughs. Distinguish yourself from your PhD advisor, but if the relationship is good, keep working together. Pick projects that can be published and funded. Collaborate. Travel to meetings If you can’t present, see about running a workshop there, or at home institution. Ideal: prestigious PhD program and post-doc, work assignment with opportunities for research, eminent mentor, early publishing, no career interruptions (there are some gendered differences). Align interests with rewards; make sure what you do counts. More comprehensive notes. Bringing women's ways of knowing to deliberative democracy, May 2, 2007 Dr. Sue Senecah, Faculty of Environmental Studies, examined the history of "Tech-Reg" decision making nvite, Inform, Ignore), and contrasted it with the more collaborative approaches to problem solving that encourage systems thinking and respect different ways of knowing (traditional as well as scientific). The former assumes linear cause and effect; the later recognizes that much conflict arises from real or perceived obstacles to participation, and that solutions come from building a trusting relationship. Dr. Senecah notes that trust does not denote liking, but r that other party is true to his or her word. Out of this discussion came a realization of participants that traditional ways of knowing uses as much (if not more) listening as well as talking, which means that there may be "uncomfortable" silences as each party absorbs the others words. Can girls be fishermen? A discussion on recreation and gender, March 28, 2007 Dr. Diane Kuehn looked at the factor's in people's lives that impacted their participation in sport fishing. She wanted to know why fishing has declined over the last decade, and why only 12-14% of those that fish are women. The results of her two-part surveys indicate that there is a significant difference in the starting age of anglers: males had started at an average age of 7, and all started prior to adulthood; females had started at an average age of 10, and 22% had been introduced to the sport as adults. Most had learned from their fathers; the adult women were introduced by their partners or spouses. Grandfathers and uncles were more likely to teach nephews and grandsons than nieces and granddaughters. Kuehn also looked at frequency and opportunity to fish. In all age groups, females fished less frequently. Their activity was influenced by the support of other family members. Males, on the other hand, were influenced more by their commitment to the sport. Socialization during the activity was important to both genders during adolescence, and fishing as a family tradition was very important to girls. Women were much more focuses on the social aspect of fishing. While this can be important to men, too, they also cited the sport of it, and men were much more likely to fish by themselves. Kuehn then inquired of the participants about their favorite outdoor activities, why they enjoy them, and who indoctrinated them. Sustainable Development and Social Power (Dec 6, 2006). What changes would be needed in current structures of social power to support sustainable development? What alternatives can we learn from women and nature? Dr. Valerie Luzadis shared her thesis that: the current dominate structures of social power limit our ability to live sustainable with nature and among ourselves. Dr. Luzadis briefly discussed the difference between "power over" and "power to do", and provided additional background information that has shaped her thinking on the subject prior to inviting responses (and there were many!) from the participants. Participants added that although hierarchies are not necessarily bad, but they are often too rigid to be effective, and by relying on "majority rules" rather than consensus, non-majority members are often overlooked. Other participants related social levels to trophic levels, and considered the impact of reciprocity and co-evolution of members, as well as the opportunities presented by gaps in biological systems. Advancing Ecology: Why (cultural) diversity matters, April 10, 2006 Dr. Robin Kimmerer (EFB) was the featured speaker at ESA's 2005 Diversity in Ecology Luncheon. She shared portions of her presentation and facilitated a discussion on why science institutions should change to take advantage of everyone's contributions, including those bestowed by membership in one or more cultural group, rather than continue to try to "fix" students into a one-size fits all mold. Particularly striking were her own revelation that she almost didn't become an ecologist, her realization about 4 years into her first academic appointment that traditional knowledge could indeed by taught alongside the processes of botany, and true stories of students "with some otherness about them" that encountered obstacles related to culture, rather than their ability to "do science." She reminded us that we each have gifts and responsibly to bring them to the table, sort of like a potluck supper. For a potluck supper to work, each person must bring a contribution, but also partake of everyone else's. "But imagine that you have brought your specialty, and it is both delicious and nutritious, but no one will taste it. Your dish keeps getting pushed farther and farther back on the table. What would you do? Pretend that you don't like it either? Leave without mention? or resolve that next time, you will bring macaroni and cheese, just like everyone else?" In the conversation that ensured, we noted that we don't want to rid the table of the mac and cheese, but that those who take comfort in it might enjoy expanding their palates to appreciate the other flavors and textures offered at the table. If this seems too drastic a step, it may help to remember that often the same basic ingredients are used, but combined in different ways. "After all, it's all science." But you don't look like an engineer...., February 14, 2006 Following her campus-wide lecture on Biomimicking: engineering design from Natural Structures, Dr. Lorna Gibson joined us for a discussion of the infamous climate for women at MIT. Her perception is that things have outwardly improved, but one trend that remains concerns her: MIT's tendency to hire their own graduates appears to extend only to men. Because these new hires already have mentoring relationships among the faculty, often continue on the same research projects, and know where to go for further assistance, they have a great advantage over hires from outside the institution. Since women faculty almost exclusively come from elsewhere, they start at a disadvantage, and because disadvantages accumulate (see seminar syllabi for readings on the subject), it is very difficult to overcome. In addition, these younger men seem to have adopted not only the methods and styles of their mentors, but also their prejudices. With the biases entrenched in the faculties, hopes that the climate would improve with the eventual retirement of the old guard seem overly optimistic. Domestic Violence and a Woman's Self-worth, Mar. 9, 2005 After a round of self-esteem exercises on our own, Vera House, Inc. co-exective director Randi Bregman joined the Baobab Society and Women's Caucus to answer questions about recognizing domestic abuse, and helping our friends and families find the sense of worth and safety they deserve. People stay in abusive relationships for lots of reasons, including fear of the unknown and some comfort with the familiar (the devil you know....). Often, they "want the relationship to continue, but the abuse to end." The best thing that we can do for those we know are at risk: be good supportive listeners and keep at it. Model a concerned relationship. It's a big decision about whether or not to involve authorities--you might fear reprisal, or fear that this act might offend the person you are trying to protect. "Do not put yourself at risk by trying to intervene directly." Direct them to local resources: locally, Vera House and the Rape Crisis center have recently merged (Vera House, Inc) to provide comprehensive assistance, 24/7. Sadly, 70% of the clients of the Rape Crisis Center are children. When are children at risk? It used to be that they were only considered to be in harm's way when abuse was directed at them. The current thinking has evolved, however, to recognize that it isn't good for their emotional and long-term well being to repeatedly witness such acts. Teachers and medical professionals are mandatory reporters if they suspect a child is in any danger. We also asked about the sensitivity of police when someone has been raped, should the initial response be to call the police? No--first go to the hospital to 1. tend to physical injuries 2. collect evidence and 3. talk to an advocate who can advise and notify authorities if victim chooses to do so.
Dr. Fish
is an Associate Professor of Analytical and Environmental
Chemistry at St. Vincent College, the director of its Summer
Institute in Watershed Restoration and its
Environmental Education Center, a mother of two, and happily
married to a fellow highly educated chemist. We
couldn't resist the opportunity to meet with her after her
campus-wide presentation on "Abandoned Mine Drainage:
A resource for Undergraduate Education" and ask about the
climate for mom's at a small teaching institution, including
how she and her husband solved their "two-body" problem.
Here are some
highlights:
Caryl Fish and
her husband Daryl met and married during their doctoral
programs at ESF. Caryl came into the program with the intent
of finding a position at a small teaching institution, while
Daryl was interested in finding a position in industry.
She found her position at St. Vincent first, and with its
close proximity to Pittsburgh, they expected that Daryl
would have little trouble finding that industry job. This
wasn't the case, however, and after he completed his
post-doc and joined her in Latrobe, was unemployed until
hired as St. Vincent's chemistry lab manager. Soon
thereafter, one of the other faculty members left, leaving
the college with very short notice to find a replacement for
the upcoming fall course schedule. Daryl filled the
position on a temporary basis, and the position was
eventually converted to tenure track. Their offices
are a floor apart, and "it would seem strange not to see him
every day."
Both of Fish's
children were born before she attained tenure. She
took a leave after the birth of her older child, and after
the birth of the younger was granted an extra year on her
"tenure clock." Her "marriage is very much a
partnership." Because she and her husband have
staggered schedules, they can share care-taking of the kids
when they are not in school. Both Fishes have been
involved with their kids Boy Scout troup, and she is
currently serving as the den leader. Daryl led her scouts
on a field trip while she visited the campus.
Also, "St.
Vincent has a wonderful on-site daycare with a full-day
kindergarten" which was an enormous help to them when the
boys were younger. Now that they are older, they still
bring them to campus on occasion. St. Vincent College also
hosts the new "The Fred M. Rogers Center for Early Learning
and Children's Media", which is partially staffed by
students in the early childhood development program.
The local community has also has many family amenities,
courtesy of Latrobe native Fred "Mr." Rogers, and the
Rogers-McFeely families.
We also asked
about how faculty are evaluated at this predominately
undergraduate institution.
Faculty at
St. Vincent have higher teaching loads than at research
centered institutions, often 12 credits per semester.
While her faculty does not have a graduate program, all
seniors are required to complete an independent research
project, and she supervises about 1/5 of these (there
are 4 other faculty). Faculty are evaluated first on
teaching effectiveness, a second criteria associated
with teaching, and then on professional
development. Research fits into this third category.
There is an expectation that faculty will publish, but
there is not the pressure to do so in the most
prestigious journals as is common at research-centered
institutions. Successful grant writing, community
efforts and participation in symposia are also
considered in evaluation, but are probably not as highly
ranked as more traditional publications.
Take Back Your Holiday! Dec. 1, 2004
Jo Anne Ellis
reminded me before the potluck supper that:
One way of
taking back the holidays, or your sanity during same, is to
divert the focus from the commercialism and "we've always
done it this way, the family expects it" to trying to
understand and meet the needs of others.
We came to this
conclusion as well: Reduce your gift giving
obligations, and select or make "cheap but meaningful" gifts
for those you choose to give to. Consumable gifts are
wonderful--homemade or purchased. You don't need to
find a place for them, they fit people of almost every size,
and best of all, require no dusting!
I give my nieces and nephews inexpensive bound unlined books with crayons, colored pencils, or paints, depending on their ages--I often personalize the covers so they can tell them apart. Janine's children and their cousins prepare and videotape a skit every year as a gift to their parents and grandparents--2 years ago, inspired by the TLC program "While you were out" they gathered to redecorate their grandparents enclosed back porch and videotaped the event. Its become a holiday tradition that they watch some of the older tapes as well as the new and admire how the kids have grown. Children also give the priceless gift of chore coupons. Grandparents that are reluctant to ask for help find it easier to cash them in for various projects around the house. One Sharon's large immediate family selects names from a hat, so each person is responsible for only one gift; the other Sharon's immediate family makes donations in each other's name to favorite charities. They distribute the names of their top three choices, and siblings choose amongst the three. She notes that the contributions can add up, but they significantly reduce the stress of selecting just the right thing. And there really is no shame in asking: my father-in-law distributes his letter to Santa with a list of inexpensive tools that he could use if received. Further gift thoughts from Jo Anne:
A "muchness"
of something is impressive and often isn't expensive.
My mother-in-law mentioned recently that she wanted to
replace her spices, which pre-dated the move to her
current apt. 5 years ago. A trip to Northway
Discount Foods and a dollar store (including a buck for
a wastebasket to pack them in) did the trick for her
recent birthday, and she was delighted.
In past
years, I've given her assortments of canned soups
(upscale brands or unusual flavors she probably would
never buy for herself), a variety of flavors of
spaghetti sauce and different flavors/shapes of pasta,
a basket of one-pot packs of flavored coffee, etc.
(Can you tell I hate malls?? I can do most of my
shopping at the grocery store!) Gift shops are a
great place to get ideas for basket assortments--then
look at the price tags and buy your own goodies!
Assortments are easy to replicate too, if you need a lot
of presents--gift bags are the easiest way to stuff
them, if you're arrangement-impaired like me.
For elderly
recipients, especially, consumables (edible or
otherwise) are often better than "stuff." When we
cleaned out my mother's house, we found stacks of gift
sweaters, bathrobes, jewelry, etc., still in their
boxes. On the other hand, the gallon of her
favorite laundry detergent (of which she usually bought
the smallest size) I gave her for her birthday was gone!
Stamps (especially in a theme geared to the recipient),
phone cards, gas gift cards, gift certificates to
restaurants or fast-food places--you're giving someone
convenience, and you don't have to wrestle with wrapping
paper--just stick them into cards!
And a timely reminder from the Employee Assistance Program (12/15/2006): It’s that time of year again – when we have to give ourselves permission to be imperfect – in advance. We aren’t going to have the Better Homes & Gardens Christmas no matter how hard we try – so let’s accept it right now and not feel guilty of “Failing” later on. Some suggestions for a hassle-free holiday season: 1. Lower your expectations. Learn to live and laugh with broken cookies, lopsided trees and cards received that weren’t sent. 2. Lower your housekeeping standards. Closets exist to hide clutter replaced by seasonal paraphernalia. Let’s use them. Learn to live with the messier bathrooms that accompany returning college students and visiting family. 3. Do away with money worries. Rule of thumb: either enjoy spending it or don’t spend it. Don’t fall into that trap of over-spending and then resenting it. 4. Don’t worry about spending the exact amount on every child. They only complain when they sense you’re feeling guilty. If they do complain, give them ‘The Look”. If that doesn’t work, give them the “The Talk” about giving. 5. Don’t – repeat – DON’T feel guilty about not having a gift for an unexpected giver. Send them a Valentine cake. 6. Eat what you cook or don’t cook it. Why make others feel guilty by baking rich foods and then watching them with incriminating eyes as they enjoy it while you munch celery? If you’re going to feel guilty because of holiday eating, go ahead and eat because you’re going to feel guilty anyway. 7. Enjoy – don’t endure – the holidays. Anything that infringes on enjoyment should be questioned. Pray, laugh, and share good times together – including memories of pleasant hassle-free time in the family. EAP Committee: Leslie Rutknowski (Coordinator), Tom Slocum (Chair), Mark Hill, Teri, Frese,Linda Stubbs, Dave Soderberg, Barb Nelson,Shirley Wilbur, Al Wilczek, Pete DeMola Balancing work and… (Social life, family, personal time, sleep….). October 26, 2004. Undergrads, graduate students, faculty and staff met over dinner to discuss what we'd like to spend more time on, less time on, and any suggestions we have that have helped us do so. Here are a sampling (not necessarily in the order that they were discussed): 1. Prioritize, and lower your standards on items that don't really matter (like the punctuation in this email!) 2. Cultivate good relationships with the office people, and those in the know in the dining halls. They are the ones who know procedures, shortcuts, how to process which paperwork and in what order it needs to be done. And, in an emergency, they are the ones who know how to bail you out. 3. Try to set aside some cookies in the freezer--then you can bring a variety the next time you need to bring something somewhere. 4. Laundry is overrated--if its not really dirty, don't wash it yet. But find a way to keep it out of the clean pile so it doesn't get forgotten. 5. If you don't know where to go, ask someone rather than getting bogged down with it. 6. Don't feel bad about not going to the gym when you'd really rather be getting your exercise out of doors. 7. Find people to do things with. Our little lists made us realize most of us want to be more physically active, several would like to dance more, and there is an African Dance class on Wednesdays at the Westcott community Center. This kind of builds on a pre-dinner discussion: some of us knit, others would like to learn--we foresee some lessons in the future. 8. Pleasure reading: Book clubs have merit, but require you to have read a specific book or portion thereof in a specific amount of time. Instead, get recommendations of books that friends have enjoyed, and put aside 15-20 minutes at the end of the day. 9. Find a (or several) delivery place. Because so many of us are already overtasked, we planned that those who could would bring something to contribute, and those that couldn't would bring a few dollars. We pooled the funds and ended up with an almost complete meal, and some nice discussion with some folks we wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity to meet. We did get a little off the track of the balancing theme later in the discussion, but since some of us wanted to spend more time with friends old and new, maybe that's not such a bad thing. This potluck supper was coordinated by the Graduate Student Association and the ESF Women’s Caucus. Are board games gender neutral? We divied up a pack of trivia cards from a popular board game, and based on first impression of the question and answer, divided them into piles: feminine, masculine, neither, need closer look. We discussed the final category, and added these cards to the rest of the piles. The masculine pile was the largest at the end of the evening. Support for working Families, October 23, 2003. Imagine what you could do if you had 9 more weeks a year to do what you wanted/needed to do. Take Back Your Time Day is "a nationwide initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment." The date is nine weeks before the end of the year, representing the 360 hours more each year that workers in the U.S. put in on average than Western Europeans do. Nine weeks! This is part of campus Take Back your Time Day Teach-in. Visit www.timeday.org to hear about the National effort. For more information, read www.prospect.org/print/v12/1/gornick-j.html. Balancing work and family, September 30, 2003
Ironically, family issues kept a number of
interested parties away last night, so I have
summarized our discussion. and have provided a
preview of the October program (Thurs. Oct. 23, 5-7
pm, Nifkin Lounge, family friendly potluck supper!)
So,
what does
it take to balance work and family?
Participants reported: organization, flexible
scheduling, a sense of humor, family planning,
reliable child care, a supportive partner, and good
friends or family with whom you can share some adult
conversation while the kids play (which we witnessed
first hand, as our three youngest participants
alternately colored quietly and ran laps around the
Lounge!). We also noted the trend of parents
waiting longer to start families, both here and
abroad, and touched on the continuing trend of teen
parents, and speculated on the class and educational
differences between the two groups.
The
discussion focused most heavily on social support of
childrearing, which is much advanced in Scandinavian
countries, just starting in Korea where birth rates
have been declining, and actually somewhat ahead of
the US. The Korean system permits a small
stipend for parental leave during the first year
(currently about 20% of the average salary); only 78
dads took advantage of the program last year while
thousands of moms used their maternity leave.
The next version of this policy looks toward making
the leave a percentage of income rather than a flat
rate. In the US, the leave permitted by the
Family Leave Act is unpaid, and thus is only really
available to those of higher income. European
models are far more family-friendly and either
support parental (maternal or paternal, often the
family's decision) care for children during their
first year or longer or adequately funded daycare
facilities until children reach school-age.
We'd
like to thank Heejae Kim, who took the time to look
up the statistics of the new Korean programs and the
Sadler Memorial Garden Committee for letting us
scavenge for produce for the potluck. As a
result of your generosity and JoAnne Ellis's
creativity, we enjoyed ratatouille and a platter of
delicious sweet peppers and beans. Cooperation
in action--how fitting for a balancing themed
semester!
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